Russian Arctic shelf could produce 18 million tons of oil annually by 2030

Optimistically, oil production in Russia's Arctic shelf may reach only about 18 million tons a year. This is the survey-supported number suggested by Vasily Bogoyavlensky, Director for Research at the Oil and Gas Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, at the 5th International Forum ‘The Arctic: Today and the Future.'

"In my opinion, in the next 15 years until 2030, our oil shelf will not help us much. The most optimistic forecast is that even if we extract oil from all the known oil fields it'll be limited to 18 million tons by 2030, which is 3.5% of our annual production," Bogoyavlensky said as quoted by TASS.

However, he noted that Russia has huge potential in terms of shelf oil field extraction equipment. Within just a few years, the country could completely replace its current foreign technology.